Intending passengers, staff and other airport users were evacuated Wednesday morning when thick smoke enveloped one of the terminals of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos, Nigeria’s busiest airport.
The fire, which was swiftly extinguished by firefighters, originated from the basement of the terminal building, Abdullahi Yakubu-Funtua, the spokesman for the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, said in a statement.
Yakubu-Funtua said the smoke permeated some areas of Terminal 1 of the busy airport but evacuation was successfully carried out, noting the swift response and professional efforts of the firefighters “successfully brought the situation under control.”
An investigation has been launched into the incident, he added.
According to data by the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority early this year, the MMIA is the busiest airport in the most populous African country with more than 6 million passengers in 2022.
